Parx Casino in Shippensburg Township sets opening date in February

Parx Casino will have a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. Feb. 3 for its new Shippensburg Township mini-casino.

Peter Shelly, partner and co-founder of Shelly Lyons Public Affairs and Communications, which is releasing information for Parx, said the casino will have a soft opening the week before, but the official opening date will be in February.

The opening comes after a few years of development for the mini-casino that started in 2018. It was approved by Shippensburg Township officials in 2021. In January, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved licenses for a branch casino to be located in the former Lowe’s building at 250 Conestoga Drive in Shippensburg Township.

The holder of the licenses is GW Cumberland Op Co., an LLC that is owned by Parx’s parent company, which does business as Greenwood Racing and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment. The casino will occupy a little over half of the existing 139,410-square-foot building and contain 500 slot machines, 48 electronic table games, a restaurant and a sports bar. It is expected to employ 100 full-time workers and 100 part-time or seasonal employees.

As Parx prepares to open, a gaming parlor has opened its doors in Hampden Township.

Keystone Klub opened at 5001 Carlisle Pike, near the intersection with Sporting Hill Road, and offers "skill game" machines. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said it does not regulate "skill games," unlike slot machines at casinos like Parx that are regulated and monitored for fairness.